Lending Limits

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is amending its regulation governing lending limits for national banks to consolidate the lending limit rules applicable to national banks and savings associations and remove its separate regulation governing lending limits for savings associations. The OCC also is amending its rules to implement section 610 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which amends the statutory definition of ``loans and extensions of credit'' to include credit exposures arising from derivative transactions, repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, securities lending transactions and securities borrowing transactions. Pursuant to the OCC's authority in section 5200(d) of the Revised Statutes, the OCC is amending the lending limit rules to provide a temporary exception for the transactions covered by section 610 until January 1, 2013, in order to allow institutions a sufficient period to make adjustments to assure compliance with the new requirements.

Agency Contact: Jonathan Fink, Assistant Director, Bank Activities and Structure Division, (202) 874-5300; Heidi M. Thomas, Special Counsel, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, (202) 874-5090; or Kurt Wilhelm, Director for Financial Markets, (202) 874-4479.